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Entry: The New Wars of Religion Link: http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/the_new_wars_of_religion#31383 Post contents: Atheists and liberal secular extremists like to believe religion in its entirety amounts to a false consciousness, a false construct, a charlatan grift, and is the root source of most conflict and evil. What they fail to acknowledge is that the longing for God is as innate in humanity as the longing for sunlight, and organized religion is merely an expression of man’s collective values and yearnings. Abolishing religion will destroy neither. And the values of secular humanism, for example, are themselves now the subject of religious devotion for many, as are political parties. Calling them irreligious does not change their character. Besides, the attempt to outlaw religion has already been made -- by the Communists. Not coincidentally, Communism was the most murderous belief system in history. But I agree with mcbrown that the State just as aggressively seeks the souls of men as does the Church, and that the two are ultimately competitors, as it should be. But the problem today is that the Church is getting its butt kicked by the State, which has the systemic advantages built in including police powers, taxation, law writing, public school indoctrination, etc. The Church is also under siege by extremist Capitalism, which doesn’t like the idea of morality getting in the way of its money making. In fact, extremist capitalists are in many ways working as a in conjunction with government to replace Christianity as the foundation of our civilization, and to wrench open new markets and propagate established ones. As we are seeing both in Iraq, and in increasingly hedonistic, morally bankrupt modern America, this is an unmitigated disaster that is only going to get worse. The lack of morality inherent in our current foreign policy can probably be directly traced to the lack of social morality in America. Crazed nihilism at home produces crazed nihilism abroad, or at least enables it. We need to cut back the State as far as possible to level the playing field and allow the Church a chance to compete again. Neither Obama nor McCain would be interested in such an idea. Nor, I think, would any mainstream Republicans or Democrats, who like their high pontiff positions within the State. Sent at: 2008 12 02